The energy advocacy paradox/fear of adoption

OVERKILL

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I know this will only apply to a small subset of members, but who here is incredibly torn on the idea of getting a BEV based on their views on emissions, power gen...etc?

I find myself constantly waffling between the idea of buying a BEV and waiting. As most know, I briefly (for about a month) owned an Audi e-tron, but it lacked the upgraded interior, despite being Technik trim and my wife absolutely hated it, so I ate some money on that and went back into a GC.

I love the idea of an electric GC, but at the same time, I have no idea when those are coming out. And I really liked the idea of the Audi. It was a nice car, and in the trim I had originally test-driven, well appointed (though I won't say any better appointed than the Jeep, the SRT GC Laguna interior is fantastic) but the quiet (it was insanely well sound-deadened) and lack of "sporty" feel were detractors for me. It was quick enough however, but you could feel the weight.

For me, as an energy nut and proponent of nuclear and hydro being leveraged for deep emissions reductions from power gen, I feel like a hypocrite driving something that gets 10mpg in the driving profile I currently operate. At the same time, I love the vehicle, it's an absolute hoot to drive. Snarly, lots of personality and very well appointed, it has significant appeal to the other side of my personality that loves driving and that experience.

I geeked-out on the Audi interior with the HUD, multiple displays (which were very high quality) and just generally "techie" feeling to the car, but I just don't feel the convergence of that and my enthusiasm for the feel of a traditional sport-geared vehicle in it, despite it, in many ways, looking the part. I don't find Tesla vehicles feeling as upscale (too spartan for my taste and no real leather) and they lack a HUD at this point, which I really like.

My wife started bugging me about it a bit lately and had me look at what was available. I had mostly moved on, but since she revived the thinking, it's been bouncing along, in varied levels of intensity, in my mind. Maybe I'm the only one stuck in this bizarre quagmire? LOL! :D
 
Its been in the back of my mind. I drive a full size truck and when I go back to commuting (currently estimated at July 1) I'll be back to a just over 50 mile commute daily. I do not need the truck for my commute (or my job for that matter) but I've stuck to one vehicle for myself. I choose a 2.7 Ecoboost for better fuel economy and overall ability, so fuel mileage was part of my equation.

With a 50-60 mile daily commute, a fully electric or a plug in hybrid would seem to be a decent fit. I just struggle with having another vehicle - as when I am not commuting I do use the truck as a truck (towing and using the bed). Family member has a Plug in Fusion, and has a similar commute. He has been happy - and I've been tempted to get one as I like the plug in ability with the gas backup, particularly for cold weather commuting.
 
Neither myself nor wife have any kind of commute to speak of, so there isn't a whole lot of incentive to get a BEV. The charging infrastructure around here is also in its infancy, I'd say. Then there are some concerns with decreased range related to operating BEVs in cold weather. So for now, I see no reason. However, wife thinks Tesla is cool, so if she wants to get one as her next car, I won't stop her. She doesn't tell me what to buy, and I don't tell her what to buy, although she does ask my advice... sometimes.

I'm a bit stuck in the good old times - I want a big and noisy IC engine under the hood. :) I am not an early adopter in general.
 
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The range is still a big issue for me. Just drove ORF-EWR, then up to New Haven, CT and back to ORF from there.

Tesla, or any BEV, would have been a pain to use on that trip. Not one charging station on the 200 mile portion of the Eastern Shore, and a 17 mile bridge tunnel as part of it, would’ve required more pre-flight planning, and time allowance for full charge than I would be willing to tolerate.

The Tundra, gas hog that it is, has over a 500 mile range, and the infrastructure is plentiful. I can worry about things like traffic in NYC and not about running low on range in that traffic or in rural back country.
 
Buying a BEV in my area to be green doesn’t really make sense since we get such a huge percentage of our energy from coal, but on the other I’d love a mid-spec Tesla. But I’m also not giving up my 5.7 equipped truck. We’ve decided to hold off for awhile till the kids start driving and then we’ll likely get one and pass the van down to the kids.
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Its been in the back of my mind. I drive a full size truck and when I go back to commuting (currently estimated at July 1) I'll be back to a just over 50 mile commute daily. I do not need the truck for my commute (or my job for that matter) but I've stuck to one vehicle for myself. I choose a 2.7 Ecoboost for better fuel economy and overall ability, so fuel mileage was part of my equation.

With a 50-60 mile daily commute, a fully electric or a plug in hybrid would seem to be a decent fit. I just struggle with having another vehicle - as when I am not commuting I do use the truck as a truck (towing and using the bed). Family member has a Plug in Fusion, and has a similar commute. He has been happy - and I've been tempted to get one as I like the plug in ability with the gas backup, particularly for cold weather commuting.

Should have added - my employer has rapid charging available in our lot with a capacity of 2 vehicles. Typically empty except for 1 leaf we see from time to time...

I look at this way - my F150 has a range of over 700 miles one tank of gas, not towing. Nice to have the range for not thinking about filling up. I guess I look at as should I have one car to cover the daily 60 mile driving and another for the "fun" anywhere else...
 
The range is still a big issue for me. Just drove ORF-EWR, then up to New Haven, CT and back to ORF from there.

Tesla, or any BEV, would have been a pain to use on that trip. Not one charging station on the 200 mile portion of the Eastern Shore, and a 17 mile bridge tunnel as part of it, would’ve required more pre-flight planning, and time allowance for full charge than I would be willing to tolerate.

The Tundra, gas hog that it is, has over a 500 mile range, and the infrastructure is plentiful. I can worry about things like traffic in NYC and not about running low on range in that traffic or in rural back country.

Yes, we'd not be considering going full EV, we'd have the split scenario with one gas vehicle one EV, which I think is pretty typical. Use the EV for shorter runs where the gas vehicle is least efficient, use the gasser for long hauls.
 
Eat less beef to make up for it?

Its about balance. If you care enough about your impact, do at least the minimum that lets you sleep well at night.
Everything in moderation; including moderation.
Luckily for us, I'm too cheap to buy a gas-guzzling vehicle, so that automatically limits our impact. However, we could get by with one vehicle most of the time. So if we really cared and sacrificed, then we'd force ourselves to do that. We also like road-trips. That is impactful.
With all of the hand-wringing that could be done about all the aspects of our lives - just do what you need to do to feel at peace. Or "save the world, kill yourself" - the ultimate emission reduction.
 
I have been wondering about it lately, to be honest. But I'm just not sure on EV being all that and then some, on emissions, when looked at in the big picture. Maybe on the vehicle after my next vehicle.

Very likely my next vehicle will be hybrid, try to eek out a bit more mpg all the same. I have been feeling kinda bad getting rid of a 46mpg car that I really liked, and replacing with a 30mpg one that I don't like nearly as much.
 
I have been wondering about it lately, to be honest. But I'm just not sure on EV being all that and then some, on emissions, when looked at in the big picture. Maybe on the vehicle after my next vehicle.

Very likely my next vehicle will be hybrid, try to eek out a bit more mpg all the same. I have been feeling kinda bad getting rid of a 46mpg car that I really liked, and replacing with a 30mpg one that I don't like nearly as much.

I'm still a bit concerned about battery lifespan TBH. IC engines will typically outlast the vehicle they are fitted to, I am not sure that's going to be the case for BEV's. I'd like to see some statistics on that with the early Tesla offerings and how they've held ip in that regard.
 
I'm still a bit concerned about battery lifespan TBH. IC engines will typically outlast the vehicle they are fitted to, I am not sure that's going to be the case for BEV's. I'd like to see some statistics on that with the early Tesla offerings and how they've held ip in that regard.
There's that too. Although I believe Prius showed that it was both possible and that it might not be the huge cost that we all feared. At the very least, for Toyota's "CVT" setup, where the transmission is not likely to ever die, what might have been spent on a trans replacement would instead go to a battery replacement. In the end, if it's the same running cost, same TCO...?

I'm also getting older and not sure I want to squeeze the last penny anymore. Bit envious of those who flip a car "before it has problems". Life in the rustbelt: might there be value in flipping after 10yr/150k, give or take? Not sure on that one--but it's tempting.
 
EV's are not as clean as we are led to believe. Sure it has no exhaust emissions but building batteries is a very dirty business. I like my ICE's and the power density of gasoline will keep them around for some time.

I've got a pretty realistic handle on lifecycle emissions. My situation is a bit more of a contrast as I'm driving something that does not get great mileage and our grid is ridiculously clean.
 
EV's are not as clean as we are led to believe. Sure it has no exhaust emissions but building batteries is a very dirty business. I like my ICE's and the power density of gasoline will keep them around for some time.

Wasn't this debunked? Who in their right mind can keep track of ALL the facts?
 
My latest thing is checking what the source is for the power production in a pie chart in the place where the car will be charged. If it’s mostly from coal, call me in another 30 years. As much as it’s cool to go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds I’m not going to pay extra for a coal powered car. Right now Washington State and B.C. in Canada get most of their power from hydro which makes it an interesting proposition. Washington also has Nuclear power which is also acceptable. Next door in Alberta it’s still 40% coal, so no thanks over there.
 
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My Tacoma is probably my last ICE daily driver unless I need something quick in the next 2 or 3 years i.e. the Tacoma is stolen or written off. An electric makes sense for my driving style (stop and go, city dweller, major highway connector driver). I hate idling, clutch work in stick cars, stop / start and crawling in traffic in an ICE vehicle, always have, even long before the Green movement and auto start / stop features. An electric is perfect for the dense cities I have always lived in. The truck I really wanted was the Nikola Badger (hydrogen / BEV combo). The hydrogen also alleviated the refuel time which is a slight concern for me (serious for others understandably). We have hydrogen in my community and the proposed range of the Badger was easily sufficient for any driving I do, including long highway trips to other major cities. However that venture fizzled hard. My hobby cars, of which I am very passionate about, will remain ICE until no longer practical (i.e. no gasoline) and I have no idea when that will be, likely I'll be dead by then.
 
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